I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 184

184. No Match

“Alright, advance! Let’s drive out those French bastards!”

“Uwooooo!”

With Duke Hohenlohe’s unrestrained roar, the Prussian army’s grand offensive began.

As carefully discerned by deploying scouts, the French army indeed had relatively fewer troops stationed on their right flank.

The French army’s intentions were roughly predictable.

Seeing that our right flank appeared relatively weak, they likely planned to concentrate their forces on their left flank and push through.

And they must have set up a unit mainly composed of Black soldiers as pitiful sacrifices to buy time.

“A common mistake made by self-assured young men. A basic error of only considering their own strategy and not anticipating the opponent’s moves.”

The French army’s scheme would only work if their right flank could hold out while their left flank broke through.

If the right flank crumbled and retreated, the French center would inevitably be in danger.

Therefore, Duke Hohenlohe chose to concentrate his forces and break through the right flank at one point.

Even though our right flank had relatively fewer troops, we had deployed a significant number of cannons brought by the British army.

If we concentrated our forces and struck, the French would undoubtedly collapse first.

In reality, the French right flank was being pushed back chaotically by the brave Prussian soldiers’ charge, unable to even mount a proper counter-attack.

“Good! The enemies are fleeing! Let’s annihilate them as they are!”

At Duke Hohenlohe’s encouragement, smiles spread across the faces of the officers commanding the soldiers.

“What? They’re just getting pushed back without even putting up a proper fight?”

“That’s just how Black soldiers are. Did you really think they would fight well?”

“No, I mean, even though we brought them as cannon fodder, I didn’t expect them to be this useless.”

“Black soldiers probably value their lives too. Hehehe!”

Normally, he would have told them not to be careless, but even Duke Hohenlohe couldn’t help but sneer this time.

The ones they were beating down were not the Holy Roman Empire army or the elite of the French army.

They were just Black soldiers who used to be slaves, dressed in French uniforms.

Besides the Black soldiers, there were also Indians, but they were no different from the Black soldiers.

“Even so, to bring guys who can’t even act as proper cannon fodder… Is France surprisingly short on manpower?”

They keep spouting nonsense about being protectors of freedom and equality, but the essence of France hasn’t changed.

Just putting on a good show without any substance, weaklings. There was no way those who always indulged in merriment thanks to being born in a land blessed by God could defeat the robust Prussian army.

“I was worried about the number of French troops, but it seems my concerns were unfounded.”

“If we annihilate the French army like this, should we consider pushing into mainland France?”

A pleased smile spread across Duke Hohenlohe’s face as he watched the valiant actions of his allies relentlessly pushing back the enemies.

At the same time, he became convinced that the fame the French had gained was nothing more than an empty reputation.

How could they not win when fighting against guys who used Black soldiers as their army?

Words of all sorts of insults, contempt, and ridicule came to mind, making his mouth itch, but he held back for the sake of maintaining his dignity as a commander.

After all, his subordinates were saying everything he wanted to say.

“Alright, keep pushing! Let’s show these Black soldiers what real war is like for white people!”

“We’ll crush the French army today! Advance!”

After chasing the fleeing enemies for a while, the Prussian army’s advance speed began to slow down for the first time.

The guys who had been disoriented by their shelling and gunfire were finally starting to mount a counter-attack.

Of course, the Prussian army didn’t panic.

“They’re responding! Calmly form ranks and return fire!”

Even a rat will bite a person, not just a cat, when cornered before death.

Of course, the Black soldiers and Indians couldn’t just keep running away.

“The fact that they’re resisting is proof that they’re cornered! Crush them as they are!”

“There are many obstacles on their side, making it difficult to approach!”

“Then spread out the troops and slowly tighten the noose! It’s only a matter of time!”

It was a somewhat cute idea to try to hide, but the limitations of those inferior beings were clear.

Since we have a superior number of troops, there’s no way they can hide behind obstacles without exposing their flanks.

“No, wait. Should I praise them for even thinking of hiding? Considering their level of intelligence, that might be the best they could do. I think I’m judging them by white people’s standards.”

As per Duke Hohenlohe’s instructions, the Prussian army began to secure space to transition from a column to a line to take advantage of their numerical superiority.

However, the soldiers didn’t move as quickly as expected and began to hesitate.

Duke Hohenlohe, who watched the scene through his telescope, shouted for the first time.

“Hey! The Black soldiers are returning fire, how can you move so sluggishly!”

“We thought it was flat dirt, but there are quite a few places where it suddenly dips. It seems they’ve set up traps.”

“What? Those pathetic bastards are resorting to such petty tricks…”

There weren’t any deep traps that would completely submerge a person, but there were quite a few holes that could cause them to lose their balance and stumble or fall.

This wasn’t something they could have done in a few hours.

They must have been secretly preparing since they first settled in this area.

That meant those guys knew the battle would take place in this area.

‘Could it be… they lured us here on purpose? No, that can’t be. We were trying to exploit the enemy’s intentions by understanding them and using them against them…’

His anxiety made him increasingly impatient.

Until now, they had been unilaterally pushing back the enemy, so the center of gravity of their forces was entirely on their side.

The Duke of Brunswick’s unit, which had been guarding the center, was also slowly moving towards them.

But what if they suddenly stalled here?

“Alright. Fire the cannons! Just blow away those pathetic obstacles with the cannons!”

“That’s impossible! The enemy’s cannons are positioned slightly higher. Moreover, their firepower is stronger than we imagined!”

Kwang!

Kwakwakwakwa! Kwakwang! Tangtang!

As if to prove his subordinate’s words, the barrage of shells visibly intimidated the allied forces.

The French 2nd Corps had used cannons more than any other unit in actual combat.

They had the most cannons deployed, and their officers and artillerymen were skilled veterans.

The Prussian army, unaware of this fact, couldn’t help but be taken aback by the unexpectedly fierce resistance from the enemy.

“Push forward! Break through no matter what!”

“How can we go when they keep shooting at us!”

“We have more numbers anyway! Crush them!”

“Those goddamn French Black bastards! You’re not fighting fair, using all sorts of underhanded tactics!”

They were incredibly exposed to gunfire and cannons as they advanced, but strangely, the enemy wasn’t getting hit as easily.

Was it the difference in the artillerymen’s skill, or the terrain, or both?

In any case, they had an overwhelming number of troops.

Even if they had to feed troops in piecemeal, they could wear down the enemy and then overwhelm them with their superior numbers when the opportunity arose, and that would be the end of the battle.

“Don’t panic! They’re just desperately resisting out of fear! As long as they don’t come out of there, their death is inevitable…”

Tang!

The officer who had been shouting loudly at the front was shot in the head by a bullet and fell backward.

And he never encouraged the soldiers again.

If Duke Hohenlohe had deployed all his troops and launched a full-scale offensive, the situation would have been much better.

However, as the Prussian army’s center of gravity shifted to one side, the French main force began to push in as if they had been waiting for it.

Moreover, they made an unexpected move of penetrating the center, not the left flank as they had anticipated.

“Messenger! Go to Duke Brunswick immediately and tell him not to come here but to guard the center! We’ll break through here even if it takes time, so he must defend the center first!”

It was the closest Duke Hohenlohe had come to making the right decision, but unfortunately, the corps led by Napoleon had already begun fighting the Prussian allied forces.

At the same time, Davout, judging that Duke Hohenlohe’s offensive had stalled, ordered the 2nd Corps to attack in reverse.

And as if they had been waiting for it, the 2nd Corps responded to the order and pushed back Duke Hohenlohe’s unit.

“Kill all the enemies!”

“For the Prime Minister!”

“Kill! Kill them all!”

Tatatang!

“What, what is this! Are those Black bastards crazy!”

“Hey, you there! Maintain formation! Don’t panic… Keuk!”

In every aspect, including efficient firing, using terrain for cover, and organic coordination with the artillery, the Prussian army was no match for the French army they had looked down on.

Not only that.

The difference was even more pronounced in the close-quarters combat using bayonets that took place after the distance was closed.

“Die! Die, you bastards!”

“You goddamn slave-loving bastards!”

“What the hell… Keuak!”

The soldiers of the 2nd Corps, who unleashed all the violence they had been deliberately suppressing, were no different from human butchers.

Regardless of the anguished cries of the few Prussian soldiers who understood French, they relentlessly harvested lives.

“Die! Die! You Prussian bastards!”

“Uwooo! For General Davout! For the Prime Minister!”

“Long live freedom! Long live France!”

The sight, which was terrifying even to their allies, was the very embodiment of demons descending upon the battlefield without any exaggeration.

And the warriors of Napoleon’s main force, watching that ferocity from afar, couldn’t suppress the raging beast in their hearts.

That’s right. We are invincible beasts that feed on freedom, equality, and love for humanity. United France is invincible.

“The 2nd Corps comrades are pushing forward! We can’t lose!”

“Sweep away Prussia!”

“Uwooo! Freedom! Viva la France!”

A massive wave that no one could stop, a tricolor wave, swept across the battlefield.

※※※

“Alright, hurry! We will circle around the 2nd Corps and strike the rear of the attacking enemy! Now is the perfect opportunity while the 2nd Corps is holding out! Hurry!”

Joachim Murat, leading the cavalry, pulled his troops back from the front line and circled around as ordered by Napoleon.

According to the scout’s report, the war situation seemed to be proceeding exactly as Napoleon had predicted.

“He really is amazing. To completely grasp the flow of this complex war…”

With the enemy in the palm of his hand like this, wouldn’t it be more difficult to lose the war?

If they won a great victory here, they could virtually end this war.

It hadn’t even been a month since the war began.

Of course, if their allies were to be defeated, they would have no choice but to raise the white flag and surrender, but such a scenario was unimaginable.

The enemy had already fallen into a trap, and all they had to do was help Davout’s 2nd Corps and beat up the enemy forces that were foolishly protruding forward.

“Alright! The entire army will soon join the front line. Our goal is to help the 2nd Corps push back the enemy…”

“Commander! Urgent news!”

“Don’t tell me the 2nd Corps couldn’t hold out and retreated? There’s no way Davout’s corps would do that?”

“It’s not that, but the 2nd Corps has completely crushed the enemy’s offensive. Some of the enemy’s left flank, which had their morale broken, are fleeing, and some are joining the center to reorganize their forces.”

“……”

What?

Murat blinked blankly, still holding the reins, at this incomprehensible report.

According to Napoleon’s prediction, Davout’s 2nd Corps had to withstand an attack from at least 1.5 times their number.

But they not only endured it but also crushed them in reverse?

Even before his reinforcements arrived?

“Could the scout have seen something wrong?”

“No. The 2nd Corps sent a signal that the situation had been resolved in the first place.”

“No… what is this…”

Then what are we supposed to do here?

A report came in that the mission had already been completed before they even started the battle. What should they do?

Murat momentarily unfolded the situation map and estimated the strength of his allies and the deployment of the enemy.

Napoleon had clearly allowed him to act according to orders, but if variables arose, he could prioritize the judgment of the field commander.

Murat, who was being tested for his ability to improvise in an unexpected situation, stopped thinking and decided to follow his instincts.

His intuition had never betrayed him at such crossroads.

Especially when he was leading the cavalry.

“If the enemy’s left flank has been defeated, there’s no need to look at the center anymore. Then all that’s left is retreat… What should we do…”

After briefly checking the map, Murat pointed to a deep area far beyond the enemy’s rear, not the enemy’s flank where he was initially ordered to go.

“The retreating remnants. We’ll annihilate them here.”

What else can we do? Expand the gains.

Since it’s a victory anyway, they can just destroy one more group and turn Prussia into the sick man of Europe.

Murat smiled more wickedly than ever and spurred his galloping horse even faster.

※※※

“Colonel Wellesley! A distress signal is coming from the center!”

Frederick couldn’t believe it even as he looked through his telescope.

He wondered if he had been possessed by a demon.

The allied forces, who had charged so grandly, were now being driven like cattle in a chaotic and unsightly manner.

He couldn’t see what had happened to Duke Hohenlohe’s side, and the French flags were densely packed in the center.

“We must move our troops! What are you doing!”

Unlike him, who was in a hurry, Wellesley, who was in command of the British army, was just looking around the battlefield with his telescope without moving.

They seemed eager to fire the cannons when the battle started, but they had stopped shelling a long time ago.

If someone didn’t know better, they would think he had come to watch the war, not to fight it.

“Colonel Wellesley! If you condone the retreat of our allies in this way, you must know that you will be held accountable for the defeat!”

“Accountable? I’m just doing as I was ordered.”

“…What, what did you say! What does that even mean!”

Frederick, now forgetting his dignity, shouted sharply in a high-pitched voice.

“Don’t tell me it was all a lie? You never intended to fight properly on our side from the beginning!”

“That’s not true. If we saw a chance of victory, we would have gladly lent a hand to the allied forces’ victory. But don’t you see? Charging in there is just suicide.”

“…So, from the beginning, England…”

“The order I received from His Majesty and Parliament was to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the French army and reflect them in our country’s future strategy against France.”

“……”

He was so confident that it was hard to say anything in return.

Scharnhorst, who was watching all this from the side, had a similar expression to Frederick.

Kwakwakwang!

Whether the two were doing that or not, Wellesley sent a signal, and the artillerymen began to fire cannons indiscriminately at the empty field.

As he wondered what kind of bizarre behavior this was, he continued to speak to Frederick in a pitiful voice.

“Our country resisted the approaching French army by firing all the cannons we had, but unfortunately, the French army’s strength is too great. Still, we will not give up and will respond by mobilizing all the gunpowder we have.”

“Heo, heoe……”

At this point, the British, who had come to help, seemed more like demons than the invading French.

Wellesley, having exhausted all the gunpowder and finished what they called their response, ordered the artillerymen to retreat first with the cannons.

“Since we have been forced to retreat in this way, Your Grace should come with me to our country.”

“…Are you saying to abandon Hanover now?”

“There is no way to stop those monsters on land. We have already secured all the nobles and subjects in Hanover who will pledge allegiance to His Majesty in our country. Your Grace should join them immediately with the troops you are leading and cross over. That will help to recover this land in the future.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Are you saying to abandon the brothers of the same family after all!”

“We are not abandoning them. We are giving the same brothers a chance to escape from a sinking ship. As proof of that, Your Grace has not become a victim of the French army like the others over there, have you?”

He had been subtly uncooperative with the war until now, so he must have been plotting something like this.

If the preparations to smuggle assets and talents to England were already completed, then this plan must have been in progress even before Wellesley arrived here.

How could they stab him in the back so hard?

However, the fact that he would lose everything he had if he stayed here was too sad.

Frederick sadly lowered his head as he realized that there was no choice from the beginning.

“Our rights will be guaranteed in the same way as when we were here, right?”

“Of course. Aren’t we all subjects of the same King?”

Wellesley did not lose his politeness until the end, even while directing the retreat in the middle of the battlefield.

Frederick felt a chill down his spine because of that, but he tried not to show it.

“Ah, if we retreat too honestly, only innocent soldiers will be harmed by the French army’s pursuit, so we will pretend to go to support the Prussian army and then retreat backward.”

“Are you going to use our allies as a shield!”

“A shield? We’re just getting help to retreat.”

No matter how you looked at it, it was the same thing, but it all depended on how you put it.

Wellesley last watched the French army coolly pushing back the center of Prussia and then turned his horse indifferently.

Suddenly, the request he had heard from the Prime Minister [head of the British government] and ministers before leaving England flashed through his mind.

-If France tries to make all of Europe their territory, we will do our best to stop them, but the current France is too cunning. They are creating a union with themselves as the center and acting under the pretext of fighting for the members of that union. In this way, there is bound to be a limit to forming a union under the banner of anti-France.

Even in this war alone, France is pressuring Prussia to hand over territory to the Holy Roman Empire [a complex political entity in Central Europe], but they are not trying to occupy the land themselves.

The reason why Prime Minister Pitt told him to withdraw the troops immediately if it seemed hopeless was for that reason.

France has no intention of doing anything to the country of Prussia itself anyway.

Of course, that made it more difficult to deal with, but England was certainly making its own preparations.

-So, Wellesley, look closely at the French army and think about how to defeat them. The reason why we sent you, the most promising talent among the young army officers in our country, is also for that reason.

In the future, France and England will inevitably have to fight an unavoidable war over world hegemony.

However, it is true that they do not even dare to fight on land, let alone at sea.

In that case, there is no choice but to continue a protracted fight in which they cannot cut off each other’s breath.

In order for England to definitively suppress France, Wellesley, the sword of England, must break Napoleon, the sword of France.

At least, the last scene of the big picture that Pitt is drawing is such a composition.

But…

‘I’m not confident, Prime Minister.’

He was maintaining his composure as a commander in front of Frederick and the soldiers, but honestly, how could he beat those guys? They’re just monsters.

He’s telling me to fight those guys? Hey, this isn’t right.

‘After all, there’s only you, Nelson!’

Honestly, since when has England placed so much expectations on the army?

English people are originally a fish-eating people.

The British Empire is a warrior of the sea.

< No Match > End